Long Island school forced to rebrand from Warriors to Hawks over Native American connection
The Warriors lost this battle.
The Amityville School District on Long Island has been strong-armed into changing its beloved Warriors nickname under a state Board of Regents mandate to rid every school in New York of Native American logos.
Last week, the Suffolk County district officially rebranded itself as the Hawks, which is meant to show “a powerful symbol of strength and courage,” according to a release on the news.
“While I understand that changing our mascot brings strong emotions for some, I am hopeful that we can move forward together, united in pride for our school community,” said Amityville Superintendent of Schools Dr. Gina Talbert.
Talbert told The Post in an email that changing out logos at school facilities would cost about $200,000.
The move comes as school board officials in Massapequa, just one town west, have called on President Trump to overturn the Native American logo ban after a judge recently dismissed a lawsuit to keep their longstanding Chiefs name.
The Nassau County school district fears a mandatory rebranding would cost it upwards of $1 million.
Included in the legal action were two more local Native American-named towns, Wantagh and Wyandanch, which also use the Warriors as a prideful team name.
The Connetquot Thunderbirds — which share a name with a Canadian Hockey League team based outside Seattle, Wash. — were also part of the suit.
In the fall, Amityville backed out of the lawsuit.
Amityville did so only after being priced out by hitting a $17,000 budget cap for the legal battle, according to Talbert.
A sign outside of Amityville High School shows a non-characteristic Native American man.
Team uniforms and athletic facilities do not contain any Native American depictions, Talbert said.
The Hawks name was chosen through “a thoughtful process which involved input from the entire school community,” according to the district’s release.
It noted that “the district then held several focus groups with various student groups, including Amityville student-athletes.”
The student body selected the name from the top four suggestions and will vote on how their new visual logo will appear in the coming weeks.
